hi I'm a high school player, and I'm playing badminton around 4 years. compare my smash I had when I started to play is a big different than now. However, compare my smash from last year, I didn't improve the power, and the angle. I wonder, how I can I practice to get a stronger smash. I often warm up with a heavy racquet, then in the game, my smash gets a little stronger. but, next day, I lost the power. Can I have some tip or technique from good smashers to get a stronger smash....thanks OC
Synergy of 1) Body rotation (torso and shoulders) 2) Forearm rotation 3) Finger Power 4) Wrist snap Some also things to note are positioning, timing, arm and wrist strength.
Very well said. Find a coach to work out your overall body rotation. Coach as in someone who has very good technique. Someone that reiterates pass-me-down tips won't do it.
Pronation is the key to power in smashes, which is the rotation of the forearm, look up pronation in the forums.
well it depends on you i think, if you have good tecnique, then you could use a squash raquet during drilling sometimes to build muscles, or you can even do some weights, just like bench press and that can help out a bit. to get better angle, work on your wrist work and maby jumping that bit higher(though make sure your timing is still good) just to get it a bit sharper. if you dont have the best tecnique, then jut work on rotation of your body and timing. i used to have a crap smash, but i do alot of smashing drills at training now and alot of jumping to get better spring, as long as you stcik with it, it helps.
To get a steeper angle, you should try to raise your contact point, so you hit the bird when it's higher over your head. People who smash when the bird is just over head level may find it easier to get power, but angle is much easier to achieve if you hit the bird when it's higher. For power, try to tuck out your shoulder, and try to twist more when you smash to pack more body rotation, which will lead to a harder smash.
you should try and learn soft drop for net cross first, slowly use you're wrist power (it might get sore if you do the same movement over and over again) to make a fast drop for net cross play. After you achieve doing that 10 times in a role, try use some rotation of your body, a lot of wrist and arm power to go for the smash!
well, my drop isn't bad, because I jump kind of high ^_^. it didn't go near the net, but drop traight behind the serving line (like a mini smash). however, when I swing to smash, I didn't feel any power from my arm (may be I didn't hold the racquet tight enough ...or I don't have a strong arm). and I think my timing is ok, because I know I can smash, drop, (control the bird) I'll try to do some weight lifting and jumping rope, see it helps .... Thanks for your advices guys...wish I could play with you guys sometime....^_^
oh, one more thing today, I'm playing mix-double. I found out that, my back hand traight drive is very weak ...when I play double, I didn't use this shot alot, (instead I drop in middle all the time). How did you guys do with this shot...you punch with the thump or smash (like back hand smash) or compine of thump and snap the wrist... How can I "home practice" this shot.... using heavy racquet, swing in backhand to get stronger ...or anything else ...thanks OC
in mixed, if the opponent girl is very good on the net, its probly better to drive down the forhand or place it around the service line to force them to lift. if the girl is not so good, you can cross court it(making sure it goes all the way to their backhand side, not half court) as they will generally not get to it quick enough and will either do a crappy net of a half court lift, leaving you to smash. but in doubles its fine to drop to the centre as they will just lift again unless they are fast and can net it.